Dual Degree Program

Admission

Dual Enrollment by Undergraduates

Dual enrollment provides an opportunity for academically talented undergraduate students to enroll in graduate courses and conduct research towards a graduate degree while completing the last two years of their bachelor’s degree(s) programs.

To be considered for dual enrollment, the student must first file an Application for Admission to Graduate Study, as indicated under Application Procedure in this section of the catalog and be admitted into a graduate program. Subsequent to admission to a graduate program, in regular status, the student must complete a Request for Dual Enrollment Status form, available from the Office of the Registrar. A student who is accepted for dual enrollment can be admitted to both the undergraduate and graduate degree program upon reaching junior standing.

Within the first semester of dual enrollment, the student’s graduate degree program advisor must be identified and the appropriate graduate degree guidance committee established. The advisor and committee assist the student in developing a program of study for the graduate degree. Admission to graduate study and the Request for Dual Enrollment Status form must both be approved before work to apply toward a graduate degree program is undertaken. Credits completed prior to admission to graduate study cannot be applied toward a graduate degree program.

A student will be classified as an undergraduate until the minimum number of credits required for a first bachelor’s degree is completed. When the student is classified as a graduate student, eligibility begins for graduate assistantships, other forms of graduate student financial aid, or those services and prerogatives normally reserved for graduate students.

A student pays undergraduate tuition up to the total number of credits required for a first bachelor’s degree(s) in his/her major(s), at which point graduate tuition is applicable and students are eligible for graduate fellowships and assistantships. If approved by the graduate program, a maximum of nine credits, at the 400-level or higher, from the undergraduate degree program can be applied toward the requirements for the graduate degree program for credits completed after admission to graduate study. Some colleges with programs that require more than 30 credits for the master’s degree may apply more than 9 credits toward the master’s degree but not more than 30% of the total number of credits required for the master’s degree. Credits applied to a master’s degree are not eligible to be applied to any other degree program.

In semesters when the student is dually enrolled, federal financial aid designated for the first bachelor’s degree (Federal Pell Grant and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)) will be determined based upon the number of undergraduate credits only. Awards will be manually adjusted as necessary once the student is registered. Students are not eligible for financial aid as a graduate student until the semester after the minimum number of credits required for the first bachelor’s degree has been earned.

Student can enroll in dual program as of Junior status
Ideally students apply to grad school in second semester of sophomore year
Grad school does not require GRE; this is up to department. We could waive for special undergrad admittance.
Undergrads pay block tuition up to 18 credits/term; can pay undergrad tuition for grad classes until they complete 120 credits as an undergrad.
Students with Advance Placement credits waive some undergrad requirements but still need to complete 120 undergrad MSU credits. Thus students with AP credits have more opportunity to fill their course load with electives which can include graduate courses.
Students can double count graduate credits to undergrad degree as electives, or if undergrad program would approve course as a selective.
9 credits of 400+ level can be applied to graduate program or by special college approval 1/3 of total MS (13 of 40 credit MS). Since we have a set of prescribed MS courses, I don’t think this would apply to our dual program students, unless we chose to accept one of their 400 level courses as an elective in our MS degree.